Stefan Żeromski (1864–1925)

This story reminded me a lot of two other famous Polish books, Quo Vadis? and The Painted Bird. All three deal with an intimate circle of characters who find themselves trapped in a world beseiged by war and genocide, and struggle to their limits to survive it. For its age, the book is very graphic in its description of violence and (implied) sex. The prose flows (like a faithful river?) and while some might find it a little melodramatic at times, it's keeps very close and true to the people show more in it. Based on the January Uprising in Poland during the mid 19th century. show less

Covers a lot of ground, very disturbing indeed in places, an interesting read.

Generally, I hate this author's writing style and I didn't like any of his books, but I especially hate his short stories, which seem overly dramatic and flowery to me. I hope it's the last time I had to read this book.